National Science Foundation encourages STEM education and careers

In the United States, education reform has been underway since the 1990s to prepare our youth to be more globally competitive in their careers by integrating science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subject areas in the curriculum. It was felt that the U.S. has fallen behind its global counterparts in the classroom and that fewer students had been focusing on careers in these fields. As a result, the National Science Foundation coined the STEM acronym and began encouraging an implementation program in the schools, and in 2009 President Obama’s administration announced the “Educate to Innovate” campaign to inspire students to excel in STEM subjects and teachers to educate in these subjects in order to move American students from the middle of the pack to the top of the international arena. (1)

There also is an effort to attract women and minorities to STEM careers. This website has audio files of women who work in President Obama’s administration talking about their personal female heroes from STEM fields in order to encourage young women to pursue a career in the sciences.

(1) Horn, Elaine. “What is STEM education?” Livescience.com. Web. 19 April, 2016.